When I heard that Jon and Stephen were going to be in town I knew I had to be there. I’ve been a fan of both for many years, particularly the satire offered up by S.C. He plays the part of angered conservative cable TV talk show host perfectly and relentlessly, and proved it once again during their “Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear,” held today on the National Mall. Only Stephen could interrupt the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens in the middle of performing his hippie ballad “Peace Train” in front of what was, according to Stewart, some 10 million people, all whilst sporting blue pants covered with white stars and a denim shirt with a black leather bomber jacket/accent piece. Call your kids, call your wife, because that’s amazing. Then again, Stewart interrupted Ozzy Osbourne mid-Crazy Train. You just can’t make this kind of stuff up, only they did.

It was essentially a glorified variety show, complete with continuous comedy and musical acts like John Legend and The Roots, Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, Yusuf (the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens), Ozzy Osbourne, Kid Rock, Sheryl Crow and Tony Bennett. There were also a number of special guests that dropped by, perhaps highlighted by Kareem Abdul Jabbar and R2D2, examples proving that not all Muslims and robots are to be feared. And oh, the signs!

I got there early to meet my friend and fellow TA, John Pellett. Disgusted with our partially-blocked view despite being up front and on the rail, we set out to find a way into the hallowed “friends and family VIP side” of the stage. When all was apparently lost, a young lady meandered toward the two of us with a twinkle in her eye. Seconds later I was reaching over the railing, fingers stretched toward two “special guest” tickets. Bing. Bang. Bong.

For those of you who have not seen it, photographer Mark Pain of the Daily Mail was setting up to take a photo of Tiger Woods at this past weekend’s Ryder Cup in Wales. Woods, typical of his recent play, shanked a chip shot and Pain managed to get the shutter pressed just before Tiger’s ball hit his camera. It really is one of the most phenomenal sports photographs ever. Talk about capturing a moment.

Photo by Mark Pain

But as cool as this moment may be, the world couldn’t help but notice a certain cigar-wielding aficionado with one of the sweetest faux-staches ever captured. Who is this man? Why is he wearing a turban? (It’s actually a wig.) Watch the video.

Just like BP’s control room a few months ago, photoshoppers from around the world have taken a liking to “Cigar Guy” and have helped him to “photo bomb” other famous images. I couldn’t resist. Here are some quick attempts…